20 lbs in 3-4 months?

Options
ashliedeee
ashliedeee Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does this seem reasonable?
I'm 148lbs at 5'4"
I was 130 two years ago before starting college and felt amazing, the weight now seems near impossible to shake.
I'll eat healthy all day but can't stop snacking on bad foods at night.
I need change.
Any suggestions?
«13

Replies

  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
    Options
    It seems a bit fast to me, at your weight you may find half a pound a week to be easier and more sustainable.
  • ashliedeee
    ashliedeee Posts: 14 Member
    Options
    Shoot, I'm sorry, I should have clarified.. I can be bad with almond butter too :3 that one scoop will almost always end up being 2 or 3 (that's usually my biggest weakness)
    I guess I don't snack on inherently "bad" things.
    But I'll take an excessive amnt of almond butter or eat a Larabar at ten pm.
  • medic2038
    medic2038 Posts: 434 Member
    Options
    ashliedeee wrote: »
    Shoot, I'm sorry, I should have clarified.. I can be bad with almond butter too :3 that one scoop will almost always end up being 2 or 3 (that's usually my biggest weakness)
    I guess I don't snack on inherently "bad" things.
    But I'll take an excessive amnt of almond butter or eat a Larabar at ten pm.

    There's really no inherently "bad" food, it's all just a fuel source. Junk food just so happens to typically be very calorie dense, making it much easier to eat more of it. Nuts are some of the most calorie dense foods on the planet, you can easily screw up your diet by eating too much.

    That extra almond butter could be enough to wipe out any deficit you actually had.
    But back to your OP, 20lbs in a short time span for you.... might be kind of difficult. For someone your size, I think it would be more reasonable to expect 4-6 months as a timeline.
  • desireeshaffer16
    desireeshaffer16 Posts: 15 Member
    Options
    A lot of people get down 20lbs in the first couple of months on Keto diet. Granted you'll gain it all back later losing that aggressively but if you have something special like a wedding it could help. You lose a lot of water weight on Keto the first mo th due to glycoge depletion.
  • Icandoit233
    Icandoit233 Posts: 90 Member
    Options
    We are about the same weight and have almost the same goal. I'm 131 lbs at 5'4 / 5'5". I'm trying to get to 115 lbs in 3 months. I hope this is possible, I'm going to the Bahamas in June!!!
  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
    Options
    We're in the same boat (5'5 149) although I'm looking at 6-8months, the only advice I can give you about the evening snacking (I'm assuming netflix and eating out of boredom) is get something for your hands to do, some people do crafts, if I'm not paying attention to the tv that much I'll get my DS out and collect some pokemon. However if you're serious about the 20 pounds in 3-4 months thing I'd get a step and start doing some exercise whilst watching the box. (also chuck out your snackables like crisps and cereals)

    Also remember to not go below your BMR with your net cals otherwise you'll be losing too much muscle along with the fat which imo is the same as chopping off a leg to get a number on the scale. Good luck x
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
    Options
    ashliedeee wrote: »
    Does this seem reasonable?
    I'm 148lbs at 5'4"
    I was 130 two years ago before starting college and felt amazing, the weight now seems near impossible to shake.
    I'll eat healthy all day but can't stop snacking on bad foods at night.
    I need change.
    Any suggestions?

    Not 20 lbs in 3-4 months at your current weight. More realistic and healthy would be 6-10 lbs in that time period.
    Set your goal to .5 lb a week. Log as accurately as you can and stick to your calorie goal. Be patient.
    Protein, fats and fiber tend to satisfy people. If you are snacking a lot maybe check you are getting enough of those things in your day.
  • ammo7
    ammo7 Posts: 188 Member
    Options
    ashliedeee wrote: »
    Does this seem reasonable?
    I'm 148lbs at 5'4"
    I was 130 two years ago before starting college and felt amazing, the weight now seems near impossible to shake.
    I'll eat healthy all day but can't stop snacking on bad foods at night.
    I need change.
    Any suggestions?

    I am also 5'4", and when I started losing weight when I was also 148lb. It took me 7 months to get down to 125lb, so I think it was probably somewhere around 6 months to lose 20lb. Even before I reached 125lb, I was feeling much, much better. You mentioned that you "felt amazing" before, so maybe you can remind yourself of how much better you felt, when you are tempted to snack?

    Something that helped me was to just distract my self from snacking with hobbies.
  • marieamethyst
    marieamethyst Posts: 869 Member
    Options
    I'm 5'5, and it took me more than 4 months to go from 148 to 128. Everyone is different though, and if you focus on staying within your calorie goal and maybe getting some exercise in you'll probably be closer to where you want to be goal-wise then where you are now, even if you don't reach 130 within that timeframe. :)
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,575 Member
    Options
    ashliedeee wrote: »
    Does this seem reasonable?
    I'm 148lbs at 5'4"
    I was 130 two years ago before starting college and felt amazing, the weight now seems near impossible to shake.
    I'll eat healthy all day but can't stop snacking on bad foods at night.
    I need change.
    Any suggestions?

    It's absolutely reasonable, IF you have the discipline to change your habits.
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,108 Member
    Options
    misskarne wrote: »
    Stop classifying food as "good" and "bad". It's food, it doesn't have morals.

    I usually read it as "healthy" vs "unhealthy"
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    Options
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    ashliedeee wrote: »
    Does this seem reasonable?
    I'm 148lbs at 5'4"
    I was 130 two years ago before starting college and felt amazing, the weight now seems near impossible to shake.
    I'll eat healthy all day but can't stop snacking on bad foods at night.
    I need change.
    Any suggestions?

    Not 20 lbs in 3-4 months at your current weight. More realistic and healthy would be 6-10 lbs in that time period.
    Set your goal to .5 lb a week. Log as accurately as you can and stick to your calorie goal. Be patient.
    Protein, fats and fiber tend to satisfy people. If you are snacking a lot maybe check you are getting enough of those things in your day.

    ^^ This, if you want to be smart and healthy about it. Otherwise, you can listen to the people who say it's ok.
  • size102b
    size102b Posts: 1,370 Member
    Options
    5lbs a months is doable and healthy I lost 7lbs a month on 1500 cals a day and exercise aged 44
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
    Options
    Don't put a time frame on weight loss, or at least not so strict of one, as you should be looking to loose roughly .5/week when you get close to a goal weight. Follow what MFP shows you for losing weight, it will keep you from restricting too much that you do end up binging.
    As for the unhealthy snacking, as long as it fits in your calorie deficit, go for it. I find that if I take out too many foods, that's when I start binging. What I recommend (at least it works for me) is to portion it out, PUT IT AWAY, and take your time eating it. If that snack is sitting there looking at me...I'm probably going to eat more.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
    Options
    size102b wrote: »
    5lbs a months is doable and healthy I lost 7lbs a month on 1500 cals a day and exercise aged 44

    It depends how much you have to lose. OP is close to her goal and will find it less punishing if she sets out to lose the weight at a slower rate.

Categories